Thursday, September 8, 2011

This may appear to be your typical less-than-average picture of a deflated balloon, but appearances can be deceiving, my friend. This is in fact a picture of a balloon that just yesterday had a near death experience.

Confused? Let me start at the beginning.

Seb is a very tidy little boy. He very much enjoys cleaning his food off his tray (you'd better have a plate to catch it!), and likes putting things inside containers of any sort. The trash can is no exception. It's too much for him, really. He sees us daily opening up this big white box with a lid and putting various things inside. And with his predisposition towards tidying and putting things inside other things, it's not unusual to find him putting things like puzzle pieces or Cody's flip flops in the trash can. Thankfully he is also a very obedient little boy, so 9 times out of 10 he obeys when I sternly say, "Seb, no!"

Yesterday was no different. I periodically rescued various items from the trash, reminded Seb not to touch it, and he would waddle away, albeit sometimes reluctantly, to find something else to do. Early in the evening, I was doing something in the kitchen, getting things ready to go to the grocery, I think, and Seb comes toddling into the Kitchen, nonchalantly opens the lid to the trash can, and per the usual, I said, "Seb, no!" But this time was different. He was really determined to keep getting into the trash can, and every time I said a firm, "no," he would just cry more as if he was torn. I realized that something was up, so I looked not at him, but at the trash can. He saw his opportunity, reached into the trash can and gingerly grasped what I quickly realized was his little deflated balloon. He came running to me, still crying, with it raised into the air, as if to say, "See mama! It was my balloon! I was getting my balloon out of the trash can! Don't be mad!" It was such an endearing combination of sad and sweet, and a memory of Seb that I'll remember because it gave me a little glimpse into his 15-month-old heart.

I had thrown that balloon away just a few hours before because he hadn't played with it in weeks, and well, it was a 4-week-old deflated balloon.

I guess the saying is true: one man's trash is another man's treasure.